Folks, this isn't normal
We are living in a unique period in history – a blip of time that is considerably different from any other the human race has experienced. In less than 100 years, our nation went from food sovereignty to food slavery, thanks in large part to cheap energy.
As a result, we now are dependent on an oil-based food system – a system that is completely unsustainable. Caring for the land has been thrown out the window. The soil is being mined of its minerals. While oil based fertilizers, herbicide and pesticides are being applied with bigger and bigger equipment using more and more fuel. Commodity crops are engineered into every type of food humans can think of, then, travels an average of 1500 miles before being purchased and sometimes simply thrown away.
Our current food production system rewards quantity not quality. The USDA defines success in agriculture in terms of production increases, ignoring the destruction of the family farm, the local food system, rural economies, and natural resources. This is a broken system that is being propped up with government subsidies and defended with our food consumption patterns.
What are we to do? Although there is no silver bullet answer, there is one clear path to change: growing a local foods economy. Choosing to vote with your food dollars is probably the strongest vote we have in regaining control of our food system.
Why local instead of organic?
Simple put, as the sustainable farming guru Joel Salatin has said, “you can't regulate integrity.”
The organic model is a great way to ensure your food is grown without chemicals. But growing organic food on a massive, industrial scale to provide consumers in Minnesota with oranges and bananas in January is an expensive, wasteful process. The production and distribution of organic food – especially when it is out of season – is often bathed in more oil than conventionally-grown food.
Local is the key to saving everything one may feel is being lost with today’s political, economic and social climates. The more locally focused one becomes the more clear it is that local food, local labor, local spending, and local friends are all ways to revitalize our economy, health, and community.
When you can say “I know my farmer” you do not need organic certifications. Customers can visit the farm and see first-hand how the food they eat is grown. Then they can determine for themselves whether the farmer's methods of growing food are in line with their values, rather than trusting bureaucrats, certifying agencies, and government inspectors hundreds or thousands of miles away to make this determination.
Organic regulation is just a poor substitute for first-hand knowledge of and personal connections to your food source. Trusting your farmer, rather than government regulations, is the real key to a transparent, sustainable food system.
How can Grassroots help?
Grassroots can play an important role in building a more robust, sustainable local food system that keeps dollars and knowledge circulating within our community.
First, Grassroots co-op can help re-configure our thought-process about food by purchasing more local food and providing an outlet for that abundance at the end of the season. I have walked through the community gardens and seen letters from residents of Anoka to the gardeners asking permission to save the fruits that hang there and to often rot on the stem. If the gardeners had an avenue to sell there abundance to the co-op, we could salvage that bounty and reduce the waste of those precious food resources.
Second, Grassroots could help by educating people on how eat seasonally, cook with fresh local ingredients, and preserve food stores for the winter.
What next?
Join me in opting out of the industrial model of food production fueled by the politics of growth, waste, and fossil fuels. Let's work together to transition to a more self-reliant, sustainable, local food economy that builds community, integrity, and health.
We don't have to be perfect, but we have to start moving in a more sustainable direction. Plant a garden, join a CSA, forage fruits before they rot on the stem, preserve the harvest, get to know a farmer, or just try to eat what's in season more often. Start wherever you can, but do something. Together, we can help bring our food production back into balance before we no longer have a choice.
It really is up to you. With your food dollar in hand, will you step up to the plate?
No comments:
Post a Comment